PERSPECTIVES: News, views and findings

The use of social media has increased significantly within the hedge fund industry over the past couple of years. Social media is broadly used by investors as part of their due diligence process on hedge funds, by service providers in their sales efforts to hedge funds, and by hedge funds to enhance their marketing strategy, investment research, and the overall quality of their firm.

Agecroft Partners sees an increased use of social media by hedge funds to enhance their marketing campaigns. By far and away the most used social media within the hedge fund industry is LinkedIn, which Agecroft estimates is used by employees at approximately 90% of hedge funds with assets above $100 million. In second place, with significantly less use, is Twitter. There is very little business utilization of other social media mediums at this time...

To those starting a new fund, the Hedge Fund Standards Board (HFSB) recommends tackling potential conflicts of interest between managers, the hedge funds that they manage and investors in those hedge funds through appropriate governance mechanism and oversight, that is, establishing a fund governing body of independent directors. The directors should of course be qualified and experienced, and the body and the governance process in place should be monitored and adjusted too.

The Hedge Fund Standards "make further recommendations on how often the fund governing body should ... and what issues should be included in the board agendas...

The full list of potential agenda items will be made available through the HFSB Toolbox on the HFSB website. This new Toolbox, which the HFSB is launching next month, is intended to be an additiona......................